ReportWire

Tag: Homelessness

  • Judge makes ruling in homeless lawsuit against St. Pete

    [ad_1]

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Pinellas County judge on Tuesday dismissed the motion for a third-party group to join a homeless lawsuit against the city of St. Petersburg.

    Restaurant owner Ronicca Whaley filed a lawsuit against the city in July, claiming the city was allowing homeless people to sleep overnight on public property.

    It’s one of the first lawsuits filed under a new state law.

    Whaley alleges the city’s conduct is hurting her business by enabling atrocious behaviorrs.

    The city in September asked the judge to dismiss Whaley’s lawsuit, stating it was based on vague assertions.

    The Progressive People’s Action asked the judge to intervene in the lawsuit, saying the case could affect the organization’s ability to deliver benefits.

    Both the plaintiff and defendant asked the judge to deny the PPA motion, which Judge Amy Williams ended up doing Tuesday.

    “This lawsuit is not about taking away aid or taking away anything from homeless,” Williams said. “This is simply about enforcing the law and whether the people should be allowed to sleep in the parks.”

    Earlier this month, Judge Williams also denied the city’s motion to dismiss Whaley’s complaint.

    The state law prohibits local governments from allowing overnight sleeping in public spaces.

    The lawsuit will proceed to the recovery stage.

    [ad_2]

    Spectrum News Staff, Josh Rojas

    Source link

  • Some Head Start preschools shutter as government shutdown continues

    [ad_1]

    The government shutdown is triggering a wave of closures of Head Start centers, leaving working parents scrambling for child care and shutting some of the nation’s neediest children out of preschool.

    Dozens of centers are missing out on federal grant payments that were due to arrive Nov. 1. Some say they’ll close indefinitely, while others are staying afloat with emergency funding from local governments and school districts. The closures mean Head Start students — who come from low-income households, are homeless or are in foster care — are missing out on preschool, where they are fed two meals a day and receive therapy vital to their development.

    “Children love school, and the fact that they can’t go is breaking their hearts,” said Sarah Sloan, who oversees small-town Head Start centers in Scioto County, Ohio. Staff told families they planned to close Monday. “It’s hampering our families’ ability to put food on the table and to know that their children are safe during the day.”

    A half-dozen Head Start programs never received grants that were anticipated in October, but there are now 140 programs that have not received their annual infusion of federal funding. All told, the programs have capacity to assist 65,000 preschoolers and expectant parents.

    Among the preschools closing as of Monday are 24 Migrant and Seasonal Head Start centers spread across five states. Those centers, created to assist the children of migrant farmworkers, typically operate on 10- to 12-hour days to accommodate the long hours parents work on farms.

    Children attending the centers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma recently came home with fliers warning of possible closures, along with other parent notifications. Those centers serving more than 1,100 children will now remain closed until the shutdown ends, said East Coast Migrant Head Start Project CEO Javier Gonzalez. About 900 staff members across the centers also have been furloughed.

    In the absence of other options for child care, some parents’ only option may be to bring their young child to the fields where they work, Gonzalez said.

    Many of the families that qualify for the federal preschool program also depend on food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps. That program also was on track to run dry of money due to the shutdown, although a pair of federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to keep the program running with emergency reserve funds.

    That means many Head Start families have been worried about food aid, along with the child care they rely on to make ends meet. A day without child care means a day without work for many parents — and a day without pay.

    In Kansas City, Missouri, Jhanee Hunt teaches toddlers at a Head Start site, the Emmanuel Family and Child Development Center, where her 6-month-old son is cared for in another classroom. The center said it can scrape up enough money to stay open for a few weeks, but the money won’t last much beyond November.

    At dropoff, she said, parents often are wearing uniforms for fast food restaurants like Wendy’s and McDonald’s. Some work as certified nurse assistants in nursing homes. None have much extra money. The most urgent concern right now is food, she said.

    “A lot of the parents, they’re, you know, going around trying to find food pantries,” she said. “A parent actually asked me, do I know a food pantry?”

    More than 90% of the center’s families rely on SNAP food assistance, said Deborah Mann, the center’s executive director. One construction company offered to help fill the grocery carts of some families that use the center. But overall, families are distressed, she said.

    “We’ve had parents crying. We’ve had parents just don’t know what to do,” Mann said.

    Launched six decades ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start programs provide a range of services beyond early education, such as medical and dental screenings, school meals and family support to children from low-income households who can’t afford other child care options.

    The initiative is funded almost entirely by the federal government, leaving it with little cushion from funding disruptions.

    Some that have missed out on grant payments have managed to remain open, with philanthropies, school districts and local governments filling in gaps. Others are relying on fast-dwindling reserves and warn they can’t keep their doors open for much longer.

    “If the government doesn’t open back up, we will be providing less services each week,” said Rekah Strong, who heads a social services nonprofit that runs Head Start centers in southern Washington state. She’s already had to close one center and several classrooms and cut back home-based visiting services. “It feels more bleak every day.”

    In Florida, Head Start centers in Tallahassee and surrounding Leon County closed Oct. 27, but then reopened the next day thanks to a grant from Children’s Services Council of Leon County. The local school district and churches have stepped up to provide meals for the children.

    “It takes a village to raise a child, and our village has come together,” said Nina Self, interim CEO of Capital Area Community Action Agency.

    But children in rural Jefferson and Franklin counties, where the agency runs two small Head Start centers, were not as lucky. They’ve been closed since late October.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Commentary: A fence might deter MacArthur Park crime and homelessness, but is it enough?

    [ad_1]

    My first reaction, when I heard about the proposed $2.3-million fence around MacArthur Park, was skepticism.

    Yeah, the park and the immediate neighborhood have long dealt with a nasty web of urban nightmares, including homelessness, crime and a rather astonishing open-air drug scene, all of which I spent a few months looking into not long ago.

    But what would a fence accomplish?

    Well, after looking into it, maybe it’s not the worst idea.

    Skepticism, I should note, is generally a fallback position for me. It’s something of an occupational duty, and how can you not be cynical about promises and plans in Los Angeles, where each time you open the newspaper, you have to scratch your head?

    I’m still having trouble understanding how county supervisors approved another $828 million in child sexual abuse payments, on top of an earlier settlement this year of $4 billion, even after Times reporter Rebecca Ellis found nine cases in which people said they were told to fabricate abuse allegations.

    The same supes, while wrestling with a budget crisis, agreed to pay $2 million to appease the county’s chief executive officer because she felt wronged by a ballot measure proposing that the job be an elected rather than appointed post. Scratching your head doesn’t help in this case; you’re tempted instead to bang it into a wall.

    Drone view of MacArthur Park looking toward downtown Los Angeles.

    (Ted Soqui/For The Times)

    Or maybe a $2.3-million fence.

    The city of L.A. is primarily responsible for taking on the problems of MacArthur Park, although the county has a role too in the areas of housing, public health and addiction services. I made two visits to the area in the last week, and while there are signs of progress and slightly less of a sense of chaos — the children’s playground hit last year by an arsonist has been fully rebuilt — there’s a long way to go.

    In a story about the fence by my colleague Nathan Solis, one service provider said it would further criminalize homelessness and another said the money “could be better used by funding … services to the people in the park, rather than just moving them out.”

    The vast majority of people who spoke at the Oct. 16 meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission, which voted unanimously to move forward with the fence, were adamantly opposed despite claims that enclosing the space would be a step toward upgrading and making the park more welcoming.

    “Nothing is more unwelcoming than a fence around a public space,” one critic said.

    “A fence can not solve homelessness,” another said.

    The LAPD underwater dive unit investigates activity in MacArthur Park Lake.

    The LAPD underwater dive unit investigates activity in MacArthur Park Lake.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    Others argued that locking up the park, which is surrounded by a predominantly immigrant community, recalls the ridiculous stunt that played out in June, when President Trump’s uniformed posse showed up in armored vehicles and on horseback in what looked like an all-out invasion of Westlake.

    But another speaker, Raul Claros — who is running against Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in the 1st District — said he’d spoken to residents and merchants who support the fence, as long as it’s part of a greater effort to address the community’s needs.

    Claros said he has three questions: “What’s the plan? What’s the timeline? Who’s in charge?”

    Hernandez, by the way, is not opposed to the fence. A staffer told me there’s a fence around nearby Lafayette Park. Other fenced parks in Los Angeles include Robert Burns Park, adjacent to Hancock Park, and the L.A. State Historic Park on the edge of Chinatown, which is locked at sunset.

    As for the long-range plan, the Hernandez staffer said the councilwoman has secured and is investing millions of dollars in what she calls a care-first approach that aims to address drug addiction and homelessness in and around the park.

    Eduardo Aguirre, who lives a couple of blocks from the park and serves on the West Pico Neighborhood Council, told me he’s OK with the fence but worried about the possible consequences. If the people who use the park at night or sleep there are forced out, he said, where will they go?

    “To the streets? To the alleys? You know what’s going to happen. It’s a game,” Aguirre said.

    Last fall I walked with Aguirre and his wife as they led their daughter to her elementary school. They often have to step around homeless people and past areas where dealing and drug use, along with violence, are anything but infrequent.

    Families and others should be able to feel safe in the park and the neighborhood, said Norm Langer, owner of the iconic Langer’s deli on the edge of the park.

    A visitor takes in the view at MacArthur Park.

    A visitor takes in the view at MacArthur Park.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    “I completely understand why you’re skeptical,” Langer told me, but he said he’s seen improvements in the last year, particularly after fences were installed along Alvarado Street and vendors were shut down. Police say some of the vendors were involved in the drug trade and the resale of stolen merchandise.

    “The point isn’t to limit access,” Langer said. “The fence is intended to improve safety and quality of life for the people who live, work, and spend time here. It gives park staff a fighting chance to maintain and restore the place, especially at night, when they can finally clean and repair without the constant chaos that made upkeep nearly impossible before.”

    LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes of the Rampart division told me police are “trying to make it not OK” to buy and use drugs along the Alvarado corridor. Drug users often gather in the northeast corner of the park, Fernandes said, and he thinks putting up a fence and keeping the park off limits at night will help “deflect” some of “the open-air usage.”

    The park has a nice soccer field and a lovely bandstand, among other popular attractions, but many parents told me they’re reluctant to visit with their children because of safety concerns. If a fence helps bring back families, many of whom live in apartments and have no yards, that’s a good thing.

    But as the city goes to work on design issues, questions about enforcement, opening and closing times and other details, it needs to keep in mind that all of that is the easy part.

    It took an unforgivably long time for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials to acknowledge a social, economic and humanitarian crisis in a place that’s home to thousands of low-income working people.

    The neighborhood needs much more than a fence.

    steve.lopez@latimes.com

    [ad_2]

    Steve Lopez

    Source link

  • Complex property deal involving Lakewood, Jeffco Schools and a nonprofit group has landed in court

    [ad_1]

    A cash-strapped school district that’s looking to unload a shuttered elementary school.

    A nonprofit human services agency that’s in need of a bigger home as it serves more than 60,000 households a year.

    And a judge who’s telling Colorado’s fifth-largest city not to make any moves on the whole situation — a complex deal that would allow the agency to move into the school — until she can determine whether everything is on the up and up.

    That’s the strange nexus at which Lakewood, Jeffco Public Schools and The Action Center have found themselves after their proposed real estate deal was challenged in court by a former Lakewood city councilwoman who thinks the whole arrangement is “taking place in secret.”

    “Government should have to do this in a way that’s transparent and above board — and includes the public in this kind of decision-making,” said Anita Springsteen, who’s also an attorney. “I think it’s unethical. I think it’s wrong.”

    The deal on the table calls for Lakewood to purchase Emory Elementary — which closed three years ago because of declining enrollment — from Jeffco Public Schools for $4 million. At the same time, the city would buy The Action Center’s existing facility on West 14th Avenue for $4 million.

    The Action Center, in turn, would buy Emory from the city for $1 million when the organization, which for more than a half-century has provided free clothing and food, family services and financial assistance to those in need, moves to its new home in the former school on South Teller Street.

    The core problem, Springsteen says, is that Lakewood did not properly announce two September 2024 executive sessions during which officials discussed details of the deal in private. In a lawsuit, she accused the city of violating Colorado’s open meetings law, which requires governments to state, in advance and “in as much detail as possible,” what will be discussed behind closed doors “without compromising the purpose for the executive session.”

    Jefferson County District Judge Meegan Miloud had enough questions last week about how Lakewood gave public notice of its executive sessions that she imposed a temporary restraining order on the City Council — forbidding it from voting on three ordinances that would authorize the deal to move forward.

    The council had been scheduled to consider the measures Monday night.

    Miloud said the city’s executive session notices on the council’s September 2024 agendas were “so vague that the public has no way of identifying or discerning what is being negotiated or what property is being assessed.”

    On Tuesday morning, the judge conducted a hearing on the matter but did not make a ruling. She called another hearing for next Monday and said in a new order that her injunction remains in effect.

    The fast-moving situation has Lakewood playing defense. A special council meeting that had been set for Wednesday night — to once again put the ordinances up for a council vote — will now have to be rescheduled, city spokeswoman Stacie Oulton said.

    Lakewood, she contended, has been open throughout the process.

    “The public process has included updates from the city manager during public City Council meetings, and the city has followed the public notification process for these agenda items,” she told The Denver Post in an email this week. “Additionally, the proposed end user of the property, the Action Center, has had several public community meetings about its proposal.”

    Anita Springsteen, a lawyer and former Lakewood city councilwoman, is leading a challenge to a complex land deal between the City of Lakewood, Jeffco Public Schools and The Action Center that would bring the humans services nonprofit to the former Emory Elementary School in Lakewood on Oct. 28, 2025. She posed for a portrait outside the former school. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    Questions about meetings, market value

    Jeff Roberts, the executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, said it was “unusual” for a judge, via a temporary restraining order, to preempt a city council from casting a vote.

    But case law, he said, makes it clear that governing bodies in Colorado must provide as much detail as possible when they announce closed-door sessions — short of disclosing or jeopardizing strategies and positions that are crucial in real estate negotiations.

    “In general, an announcement that doesn’t give any indication of the topic is not enough information for the public,” Roberts said. “In most cases — and that’s why it’s in the law — you must tell the public what the executive session is about.”

    That standard, he said, was upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals in 2020, when it ruled that the Basalt Town Council violated the state’s open meetings law several times in 2016 by not properly announcing the topic of private deliberations it would be having regarding a former town manager.

    In the Lakewood school matter, the alleged open meetings violations are not the only thing that bothers Springsteen. She objects to the structure of the proposed real estate transaction, saying it would be a sweetheart deal for The Action Center and a waste of money for taxpayers.

    “They are stealing money out of our pockets,” said Springsteen, who served on City Council from 2019 to 2023.

    Lakewood, she said, would be underpaying for the 17-acre Emory Elementary School parcel, overpaying for The Action Center’s current facility and basically giving the school property away to the nonprofit.

    “For the city to not intend to own the property, but to buy it on behalf of a nongovernmental organization — when did we become an agent for other agencies?” Springsteen said.

    According to the Jefferson County assessor’s site, The Action Center’s buildings on West 14th Avenue have a total value of about $2 million, while the city has proposed purchasing them for double that. The assessor’s office lists Emory Elementary as having a total value of up to $12 million.

    Springsteen said she is flummoxed by the Jeffco school district’s willingness to sell the elementary school to Lakewood for a third of that valuation.

    “What bothers me most is the way Jeffco schools is handling this,” she said. “The district didn’t even have a school resource officer at Evergreen High School because of budgetary issues.”

    She was referring to when a 16-year-old student critically wounded two fellow students at the foothills high school last month. There was no SRO at the school at the time of the shooting. Evergreen High School’s principal told reporters the district had “deprioritized” SROs for its mountain schools leading up to the shooting.

    The school district is looking at a $39 million budget hole for the coming year.

    A spokesperson for Jeffco schools said a decision on whether to sell Emory Elementary to Lakewood hadn’t been made yet. That vote, by the district’s school board, is expected Nov. 13.

    Raven Price picks out food at The Action Center's food bank in Lakewood on Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
    Raven Price picks out food at The Action Center’s food bank in Lakewood on Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    ‘We need to bring this into our community’

    Pam Brier, the CEO of The Action Center, said property values don’t tell the full story.

    “There are many instances locally and nationally of municipalities helping to support the affordable acquisition of properties for organizations like The Action Center — who are serving such a critical need in our community,” she said, “and ultimately saving taxpayer money by helping to meet people’s basic needs.”

    On Wednesday, she provided The Denver Post a May 2024 appraisal done by Centennial-based Masters Valuation Services that valued the organization’s current facility — made up of a 14,960-square-foot building and a 15,540-square-foot building — at $4 million.

    Her organization, Brier said, serves 300 households a day. It provides a free grocery and clothing market, financial assistance, free meals, family coaching, skills classes and workforce support to people who are down on their luck.

    “As public dollars dwindle, our work is more important than ever,” she said. “Without organizations like The Action Center to provide food, clothing and other critical support, individuals and families fall into crisis, needing assistance that will cost taxpayers and cities so much more.”

    Oulton, the Lakewood city spokeswoman, said it was not unusual for cities and counties across metro Denver to “provide financial support in a variety of ways to nonprofits that serve their communities.”

    “Additionally, Jeffco Public Schools has clearly communicated to the city that the district views the value of this project in more than the dollars involved, because the district’s priority has been to see former schools used in a way that will continue providing services and support to Jeffco Public Schools students and their families,” Oulton said.

    Diana Losacco, a 48-year resident of Lakewood who lives about a mile from the Emory site, was one of more than three dozen people who urged the city to pursue the purchase and sale of the school to The Action Center on the Lakewood Speaks website.

    Raven Price and her 4-year-old son, Gabriel Luna, head home with a wagon full of food they selected from The Action Center's food bank in Lakewood on Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
    Raven Price and her 4-year-old son, Gabriel Luna, head home with a wagon full of food they selected from The Action Center’s food bank in Lakewood on Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Water district notifies residents of Gilroy homeless encampments to clear out by November

    [ad_1]

    The Santa Clara Valley Water District, which owns two properties in Gilroy that have turned into the largest homeless encampment sites in the city, is trying to clear out the sites by the first week of November. 

    One of the sites is near Tomkins Court, just west of U.S. Highway 101 and east of Monterey Road. Valley Water Assistant Officer Mark Bilski said environmental and safety concerns, including interactions between unhoused residents and district staffers, are compelling the district to strictly enforce a 2023 city ordinance prohibiting outdoor camping in certain areas, such as schools and parks. 

    “We look to prioritize the worst environmental and safety impacts and address those, and anybody else who was exhibiting good camping behavior had an opportunity to be considered low-priority for the enforcement of the ordinance,” Bilski told CBS News Bay Area. “There continues to be staff safety incidents that we are struggling to mitigate. Our staff have police accompaniment every time they go out to do their work at these sites, and police are able to respond when safety incidents occur, but it’s always reactive.”

    Bilski added that with people moving in and out of the site, there are growing concerns with the campers.

    “There have been arson concerns, where campers have set other camper tents on fire. But aside from that, a major concern is aggressive dogs. There are tens of aggressive dogs on the site,” Bilski said. “We continue to recover weapons from campers at the site, bladed weapons, firearms.”

    And now, Bilski said, they established a November 3rd deadline for all campers at both encampment sites to vacate the premises. 

    “This is my kitchen right here, area is just a mess right now. Trying to get everything all sorted out,” Greg Porter, who has been living at the encampment site near Tomkins Court since January, told CBS News Bay Area. 

    “I mean it’s pretty mellow, we all try to help each other out here,” Porter said, adding that he believes they are being misunderstood. “We’re just normal people, like everybody else. There’s no fires out here. None, you see it’s all green out here.” 

    CBS News Bay Area reached out to the City of Gilroy for comment, and a spokesperson sent a statement from Mayor Greg Bozzo, saying: 

     “I have long advocated for a collaborative approach to addressing housing and homelessness. As the city located farthest from the county’s core resources, we recognize that this is not a challenge we can solve on our own. Yesterday, I met with District Supervisor Silvia Arenas’ office, Director John Varela with Valley Water District 1, and staff from Valley Water, the County Office of Supportive Housing, and the City of Gilroy to discuss both immediate and long-term solutions to this challenge. Our teams are committed to exploring every viable option. While implementing change takes time, I’m optimistic that Valley Water will consider extending the encampment shutdown date to allow our teams to continue this important collaborative work.”

    Community advocates said these campers have nowhere to go, and the lack of available shelter beds is an issue. 

    “The County operates a centralized shelter hotline called Here4You in partnership with Bill Wilson Center. Through this hotline, individuals and families are referred to shelter beds as they become available,” said KJ Kaminski, director of the Office of Supportive Housing in Santa Clara County, in a statement to CBS News Bay Area. “There is currently a waiting list for both family and single adult shelter beds.”

    Porter said he will just have to find a temporary solution in the meantime. 

    “We’re just probably going to find a spot that we can go to, hopefully,” Porter said. “We’re hoping the mayor would come down and talk to us too.”

    Meanwhile, Valley Water officials said they will be more flexible with campers who have mobility issues, but still expect everyone else to vacate by the November deadline. 

    [ad_2]

    CBS Bay Area

    Source link

  • Zoning overlay for Lifebridge shelter expansion receives first passage

    [ad_1]

    SALEM — The ordinance to create a project-based zoning overlay to expand the Lifebridge homeless shelter on Margin Street received first passage and was returned to committee by the City Council with a 9-2 vote.

    Through the adoption of a 40R Smart Growth Overlay District, the project seeks to expand the Lifebridge shelter to provide the formerly homeless with a more humane shelter than the current congregate model that places 50 bunk beds in a large, open interior space with shared facilities and little privacy.


    This page requires Javascript.

    Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

    kAmx? 255:E:@? E@ :>AC@G:?8 E96 DA246 H:E9 A2CE:2= H2==D D6A2C2E:?8 6249 365[ E96 A=2? 42==D 7@C E96 4C62E:@? @7 23@FE db DEF5:@ 2A2CE>6?ED — c` @7 H9:49 2C6 ?6H DEF5:@ 2A2CE>6?ED[ H:E9 E96 C6>2:?:?8 `a C6A=24:?8 6I:DE:?8 D:?8=6 C@@> @44FA2?4J F?:ED — 2D H6== 2D 2? 255:E:@?2= f_ ?@?4@?8C682E6 D96=E6C 365D[ 2?5 :>AC@G65 D6CG:46D]k^Am

    kAm%96 A=2? 7C@> w2C3@C=:89E w@>6D {{r AC@A@D6D E@ <66A E96 DECF4EFC6 @7 E96 $E] |2CJ’D xE2=:2? r9FC49 AC@A6CEJ[ 2?5 255 ?6H H:?8D E@ E96 3F:=5:?8] %96 ?6H DEF5:@ 2A2CE>6?ED H@F=5 36 A=2465 😕 E96 =67E H:?8 @7 E96 49FC49[ H9:=6 E96 49FC49 2?5 H:?8D E@ E96 C:89E H@F=5 36 FD65 7@C {:763C:586 AC@8C2>D[ 365D 2?5 @77:46D]k^Am

    kAm(:E9 E96 ?62C=J 7@FC J62CA6C>:EE:?8 AC@46DD 2AAC@249:?8 4@>A=6E:@?[ E96 >2;@C:EJ @7 r:EJ r@F?4:= >6>36CD 6IAC6DD65 4@?7:56?46 😕 >@G:?8 7@CH2C5 56DA:E6 D@>6 BF6DE:@?D 23@FE E96 {:763C:586 3@2C5 2?5 =@42= AC676C6?46] {:763C:586 92D :?5:42E65 E92E :E 6IA64ED E96 2A2CE>6?ED E@ 92G6 2 =@42= AC676C6?46 7@C f_T @7 E96 F?:ED 😕 E96 =@EE6CJ]k^Am

    kAm“x 92G6 2 4@FA=6 BF6DE:@?D E92E C6>2:? F?2?DH6C65[” r@F?4:=@C 2E{2C86 %J w2AH@CE9 D2:5] “}2>6=J E96 >2<6FA @7 E96 {:763C:586 3@2C5[ H96C6 x H@F=5 H2?E E@ D66 2 8F2C2?E66 7C@> {:763C:586 7@C 2 $2=6> C6D:56?E >@G:?8 7@CH2C5 @? E92E 3@2C5] x’> A=62D65 E@ D66 E96 =@42= AC676C6?46 7@C E96 w2C3@C=:89E F?:ED[ 2?5 x F?56CDE2?5 E92E :E >2J ?@E 36 A@DD:3=6 E@ 8F2C2?E66 E92E 7@C 7FEFC6 2AA=:42?ED[ 2?5 E92E’D 2 =:EE=6 3:E @7 2 8C2J 2C62]k^Am

    kAm“x H@F=5 =:<6 E@ 86E E96 7:CDE A2DD286 :?[ 3FE H2?E 2? 2?DH6C E@ E9@D6 BF6DE:@?D 367@C6 E96 D64@?5 A2DD286]”k^Am

    kAm(2C5 ` r@F?4:=@C rJ?E9:2 y6CKJ=@[ H9@ G@E65 H:E9 (2C5 d r@F?4:=@C y@9? w2CG6J 282:?DE 7:CDE A2DD286 @7 E96 AC@A@D65 K@?:?8[ DA@<6 E@ E96 4@?46C?D E92E C6D:56?ED 2?5 23FEE6CD 92G6 C2:D65 23@FE E96 AC@;64E’D D4@A6 2?5 D276EJ]k^Am

    kAm“x 566A=J 25>:C6 E96 H@C< {:763C:586 92D 5@?6 E@ DFAA@CE E9@D6 6IA6C:6?4:?8 9@>6=6DD?6DD[ 2?5 x @H 7:CDE92?5 9@H 492==6?8:?8 2?5 :>A@CE2?E E92E H@C< :D[” y6CKJ=@ D2:5] “w@H6G6C[ x 28C66 H:E9 >2?J C6D:56?ED E92E E96 D96=E6C ?665D E@ 36 >@C6 4@8?:K2?E @7 E96 4@>>F?:EJ’D 4@?46C?D[ 7CFDEC2E:@?D 2?5 D276EJ :DDF6D]”k^Am

    kAm$96 4:E65 E96 =24< @7 @FE5@@C DA246 2?5 52JE:>6 AC@8C2>>:?8 7@C C6D:56?ED H9@ 6I:E E96 D96=E6C 3J g 2]>]k^Am

    kAmy6CKJ=@ 2=D@ 9:89=:89E65 D6G6C2= A@:?ED >256 3J C6D:56?ED 5FC:?8 AC6G:@FD AF3=:4 >66E:?8D[ :?4=F5:?8 @?6 :562 E92E E96 Sed >:==:@? AC@A@D65 7@C E9:D AC@;64E 4@F=5 :?DE625 36 FD65 E@ 96=A :?5:G:5F2=D >@G6 @FE @7 D96=E6CD 2?5 :?E@ A6C>2?6?E 9@FD:?8]k^Am

    kAm(2C5 b r@F?4:=@C !2EC:4:2 |@CD:==@ 6>A92D:K65 E96 :>A@CE2?46 @7 {:763C:586 4@?E:?F:?8 E@ 4@?5F4E >@C6 C68F=2C @FEC6249 2C@F?5 E96 AC@A6CEJ[ H:E9 E96 C6DF=ED @7 AC6G:@FD=J :?DF77:4:6?E 4@>>F?:42E:@? C6DF=E:?8 😕 2 “?6:893@C9@@5 E92E 😀 3C@<6? @G6C E9:D AC@;64E]k^Am

    kAm“x 92G6 925 ?F>6C@FD :DDF6D H:E9 E96 H2J E96 AC@;64E 92D 366? AC6D6?E65 3J E96 56G6=@A6CD[ E96:C E@?6[ 9@H E96 AF3=:4 >66E:?8D 5:DD@=G65 :?E@ D9@FE:?8 2?5 E9C62ED[ 2?5 E96 :?23:=:EJ E@ 92G6 2 >62?:?87F= 5:D4FDD:@? :7 E96 C@@> 96=5 >@C6 E92? `_ A6@A=6[” D96 D2:5] “]]] (96E96C E96 K@?:?8 A2DD6D @C ?@E[ 4@>>F?:42E:@? 36EH66? E96 ?6:893@C9@@5 2?5 {:763C:586 >2?286>6?E 2?5 DE277 ?665D E@ 36 DEC6?8E96?65]”k^Am

    kAm(:E9 7:CDE A2DD286 @7 E96 K@?:?8 @G6C=2J ?@H 2AAC@G65[ E96 >2EE6C 😀 6IA64E65 E@ C6EFC? 367@C6 E96 r:EJ r@F?4:= @? }@G] `b 7@C 2 G@E6 @? D64@?5 A2DD286]k^Am

    kAm|@C6 FA52E6D 2?5 7FCE96C :?7@C>2E:@? @? E96 AC@;64E >2J 36 7@F?5 2E k2 9C67lQ9EEAi^^92C3@C=:89E9@>6D]@C8^=:763C:586DFAA@CE:G6Qm92C3@C=:89E9@>6D]@C8^=:763C:586DFAA@CE:G6k^2mk^Am

    kAm|:4926= |4wF89 42? 36 4@?E24E65 2E k2 9C67lQ>2:=E@i>>49F89o?@CE9@73@DE@?]4@>Qm>>49F89o?@CE9@73@DE@?]4@>k^2m @C 2E fg`fhhda_ak^Am

    [ad_2]

    By Michael McHugh | Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Former LAPD officer charged with murder in 2015 shooting of unarmed homeless man

    [ad_1]

    LOS ANGELES — A grand jury indictment was unsealed Friday charging a former Los Angeles police officer in the May 2015 shooting death of an unarmed homeless man in Venice, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.

    Clifford Proctor pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

    Brendan Glenn, 29, was killed during a struggle with officers outside a bar where he had fought with a bouncer, and his name became a rallying cry against police shootings in Los Angeles. Both Glenn and Proctor are Black.

    The office of current LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement that the indictment comes after the previous district attorney, George Gascón, reexamined four use-of-force cases involving law enforcement officers, including Proctor’s case.

    Hochman, who ousted Gascón in November’s election, will review the case and decide whether to proceed with the prosecution, the statement said.

    Proctor’s lawyer, Anthony “Tony” Garcia, questioned the timing of the charges and noted that prosecutors declined to charge his client in 2018, according to the Times.

    In 2018, LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey declined to press charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove Proctor acted unlawfully when he used deadly force.

    Glenn was on his stomach and trying to push himself up when Proctor shot him in the back, according to police. He wasn’t trying to take a gun from Proctor or his partner when he was shot, and Proctor’s partner told investigators that he didn’t know why the officer opened fire, police have said.

    Proctor resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017. The city paid $4 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit that was brought by Glenn’s relatives.

    Proctor, 60, remains in jail. His next court date is Nov. 3.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Former LAPD Officer Charged With Murder in 2015 Shooting of Unarmed Homeless Man

    [ad_1]

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A grand jury indictment was unsealed Friday charging a former Los Angeles police officer in the May 2015 shooting death of an unarmed homeless man in Venice, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.

    Clifford Proctor pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

    Brendan Glenn, 29, was killed during a struggle with officers outside a bar where he had fought with a bouncer, and his name became a rallying cry against police shootings in Los Angeles. Both Glenn and Proctor are Black.

    The office of current LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement that the indictment comes after the previous district attorney, George Gascón, reexamined four use-of-force cases involving law enforcement officers, including Proctor’s case.

    Hochman, who ousted Gascón in November’s election, will review the case and decide whether to proceed with the prosecution, the statement said.

    Proctor’s lawyer, Anthony “Tony” Garcia, questioned the timing of the charges and noted that prosecutors declined to charge his client in 2018, according to the Times.

    In 2018, LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey declined to press charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove Proctor acted unlawfully when he used deadly force.

    Glenn was on his stomach and trying to push himself up when Proctor shot him in the back, according to police. He wasn’t trying to take a gun from Proctor or his partner when he was shot, and Proctor’s partner told investigators that he didn’t know why the officer opened fire, police have said.

    Proctor resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017. The city paid $4 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit that was brought by Glenn’s relatives.

    Proctor, 60, remains in jail. His next court date is Nov. 3.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Minneapolis property owner at odds with city over encampment opening hygiene center for homeless community

    [ad_1]

    A business owner on Lake Street in Minneapolis is trying a new tactic after the city cleared a homeless encampment on his property. 

    Hamoudi Sabri said he’s doing what he thinks is right.

    “It’s a homeless community and it could be fixed. You all know it could be fixed,” said Sabri. 

    At a news conference Friday morning, Sabri announced plans to turn his parking lot into a daytime hygiene station. 

    Attorney Claire Glenn says it will have portable bathrooms, handwashing stations, bottled water and information to connect the homeless to housing. 

    “What Mr. Sabri is doing here is what the city should be doing,” said Glenn. 

    The announcement comes a month after a mass shooting at the encampment left one person dead. 

    A judge granted the city’s request to remove the encampment from Sabri’s parking lot. But the business owner said it’s left people without their belongings, resources and a place to go, and he blames Mayor Jacob Frey. 

    “What is he doing about that? He’s a mayor. For crying out loud, a mayor should know what’s going on,” said Sabri. “He chose to be a mayor. He’s got to act like a mayor.”

    In the past, Frey has called the encampments unsafe, citing crime, drug use, and open fires as just some of the reasons why. 

    While neighbors agree that a solution is needed for the city’s homeless problem, some don’t believe that an encampment or a hygiene center at Sabri’s property is the answer.

    “There was general disrespect for our block when they had the encampment before,” said neighbor Caleb Grote. “They were defecating in our backyards. I don’t think porta-potties are going to solve the problem.” 

    Steve Christen and his son Adam said they patrol the neighborhood on bikes looking to help people. But they said they worry a daytime hygiene center will lead to more problems at night, like they had in the past. 

    “I got three kids at the house. I feel very unsafe. What are they going to do, step outside the house and step on a needle? It’s bad behavior for these kids to be learning,” said Christen. 

    A city of Minneapolis spokesperson released a statement saying Sabri does not have permits or approval for what he’s proposing and that he could face fines. The statement added that a temporary restraining order also prohibits Sabri from allowing an encampment on his property. 

    [ad_2]

    John Lauritsen

    Source link

  • Flushing out homeless encampments causes more harm than good, expert says – WTOP News

    [ad_1]

    The order from President Donald Trump’s administration to clear out homeless encampments across D.C. might be causing more harm to those experiencing homelessness, according to one expert.

    The order from President Donald Trump’s administration to clear out homeless encampments across D.C. might be causing more harm to those experiencing homelessness, according to one expert.

    The National Alliance to End Homelessness said clearing the camps can backfire by disrupting access to critical services, destroying personal belongings and pushing people into more dangerous or hidden areas.

    Experts say the practice increases psychological stress, worsens health outcomes and can even raise the risk of death — all while failing to address the root causes of homelessness.

    “Simply moving people out of public sight doesn’t resolve homelessness,” Mary Frances Kenion, chief equity officer for the alliance, said. “They no longer have, not just their personal possessions, but they could have lost very important documentation … like an ID.”

    Kenion said the humane way to remove the camps is to first have a place for the individuals to go. Increasing the notice period for those living in an encampment, she said, is a good place to start.

    She cited an initiative in Dallas, Texas, as a good example of how a city was able to reduce the number of homeless individuals in a way that benefited the community.

    Suddenly dissolving a camp, she said, simply pushes people farther away from things they might need, such as access to health care, mental health services and food assistance.

    “Nobody wants to be isolated from their safety net, and that’s what displacement does,” Kenion said.

    Kenion also said it can destroy the relationship a homeless person may have developed with a caseworker. The practice can also erode trust between homeless individuals and authorities, she said.

    “Just sweeping folks from one part of a community to another is being done, but this isn’t new to us,” Kenion said.

    Under the Trump administration, Kenion said there has been a move to criminalize homelessness, and that homeless people are better served by counselors than law enforcement.

    She pointed to the state of Kentucky, which has enacted several laws to crack down on homeless people. But she said the problem there has only gotten worse.

    The NAEH and other organizations have coped with the tactic for decades. She said it’s much more expensive to a community to move encampments out instead of making the human capital investments in long-term solutions.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    [ad_2]

    Alan Etter

    Source link

  • Marc Benioff’s ideas for fixing San Francisco keep getting worse

    [ad_1]

    Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free.

    This week’s newsletter includes stories on:

    • The anticlimactic end of the wild legal fight over Charlottesville, Virginia’s new zoning code.
    • Federal housing reform miraculously passed out of the Senate on a bipartisan basis during the shutdown.
    • Democrats’ bad idea of letting furloughed government workers skip paying rent during the shutdown.

    But first! Our lead item is on how Marc Benioff continues to pingpong between equally bad ideas on how to clean up San Francisco’s streets.

    Marc Benioff Continues To Be Wrong About Homelessness

    This past week, Benioff, the billionaire founder and CEO of Salesforce, courted endless controversy when he told The New York Times that President Donald Trump should send in the National Guard to assist San Francisco’s understaffed police department in cleaning up the streets.

    The remarks did not go over well in liberal San Francisco, where Benioff is from and his company is headquartered.

    In the wake of the Times interview, liberal donor Ron Conway resigned from the Salesforce Foundation’s board in protest, comedians have canceled their scheduled performances at the company’s upcoming conference, and Benioff walked back his comments in a post on X.

    (San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has since put out a video saying he is ready and willing to work with federal law enforcement on enforcing drug laws, but is opposed to National Guard deployments.)

    In addition to being controversial, Benioff’s support for sending in the troops is unusual and more than a little ironic, given his last major foray into San Francisco city politics.

    In 2018, Benioff was the primary funder and a fierce public advocate for Proposition C—the ultimately successful ballot initiative that hiked the city’s gross receipts tax by $300 million a year on large tech companies to pay for homeless housing and services.

    The proposed tax attracted a lot of opposition from the business community and the city’s political establishment, including then-Mayor London Breed and state Sen. Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco).

    All warned that such a steep tax increase (the largest in San Francisco history) on such a narrow base of businesses would drive companies out of town. Moreover, there was a lot of concern that dumping a lot of money into San Francisco’s notoriously opaque homelessness bureaucracy without a clear spending plan was a recipe for waste.

    Benioff shrugged off these objections, saying that the new revenue was necessary to deal with the crises of “cleanliness” and “inequality” in the city. In a very public social media spat with Jack Dorsey, he accused billionaire opponents of Prop C of benefiting from city tax breaks while doing nothing to support the homeless.

    Seven years on from Prop C’s passage, it seems like the measure’s critics had a point that even Benioff is tacitly conceding.

    A number of large companies did leave town in response to the tax hike, including Stripe and Block, and the homeless population continued to increase.

    More notably, the city’s last biennial homeless census in 2024 counted 8,323 homeless people in San Francisco—a 7 percent increase from the 2022 count.

    Despite a cumulative $821 million in Prop C–funded spending—including half a billion on permanent supportive housing and homeless prevention—the number of people sleeping on the streets or in shelters has only grown.

    The tax has spent a cumulative $164 million on mental health services, and yet surveys show that mental illness rates among the homeless population have “skyrocketed.”

    The situation is bad enough that Benioff, who championed the left-coded Prop C as a way of getting San Francisco’s homelessness and public order crises under control, is now demanding a very right-coded federal military intervention to address the same problem.

    One could posit a number of reasons why Prop C–funded programs haven’t arrested the rise of San Francisco’s homeless population.

    Inefficient spending is a plausible one. Past controversies include a Prop C–funded program running a “safe camping” site for the cost of $61,000 per tent, per year.

    One could argue that the initiative put too much priority on providing permanent supportive housing over emergency shelter. Lurie’s latest budget redirected some Prop C funds from housing to shelter programs.

    I think the bigger reason is that any approach to homelessness is going to fail so long as San Francisco’s housing costs remain as high as they are.

    It’s no coincidence that San Francisco has some of the nation’s highest housing costs, lowest rates of new housing construction, and highest rates of homelessness. City regulations have stifled new housing construction for decades, which has spiked the price of housing and resulted in more and more people ending up on the streets.

    Unless something changes about that basic set of facts, enough people will continue to be homeless, and become homeless, in San Francisco to overwhelm whatever services the city provides—be that shelter beds, rental assistance, permanent supportive housing, mental health services, or whatever else.

    More efficient spending or even higher taxes might increase the city’s capacity to handle the homeless population for a time, but it won’t end the basic dynamic of high housing costs begetting more and more people sleeping on the streets.

    The upshot for the present moment is that the National Guard can’t fix this basic dynamic either. Unless Trump wants to direct them to build new apartment buildings, there’s not a lot they’ll be able to do to address San Francisco’s homelessness crisis.

    Benioff, fresh from supporting one failed big intervention, is now demanding another that will also certainly fail.

    The Wild Legal Fight Over Charlottesville’s Zoning Reforms Comes to an Anticlimactic End

    The nearly two-year whirlwind, occasionally comical legal fight over Charlottesville, Virginia’s zoning reforms—during which time the city has gone from saying it has no zoning code to stopping consideration of new construction—appears to be at an end.

    On Monday, the Charlottesville City Council voted to accept a settlement agreement that would end a lawsuit challenging the legality of zoning amendments it adopted in December 2023, which broadly allowed smaller multifamily projects (“middle housing”) in single-family areas and larger apartments in new areas of town.

    Under the settlement agreement, Charlottesville will send a traffic analysis of the new zoning code to state transportation officials in exchange for plaintiff property owners agreeing to drop their legal challenge against the new code.

    It’s a rather anticlimactic result, considering some of the twists and turns of the lawsuit.

    Back in January 2024, a collection of Charlottesville property owners sued the city, alleging that the zoning reforms passed the previous month had failed to follow various state laws about the need to consider various environmental and infrastructure impacts when passing zoning.

    The case wound through the courts for the next year and a half until last summer. That’s when an attorney representing the city missed a major filing deadline. That led the judge hearing the case to issue a default judgment invalidating the new zoning code.

    In a brief, highly ironic twist, city officials said that the default judgment left the city with no zoning code whatsoever.

    “The old [zoning] ordinance had to be repealed in order for the new one to be adopted. The void of the new one leaves us without one temporarily,” said City Manager Sam Sanders to the local press, adding that without the zoning code, the city couldn’t enforce use restrictions.

    The idea of a lawsuit challenging a zoning code that allows a little more housing leading to complete zoning abolition was a fun development. But it wasn’t to last.

    In a follow-up statement to Reason, the city said that Sanders’ comments about the city having no zoning code were “mistakenly conveyed” and that the city’s new zoning code was still in effect until the judge overseeing the case issued a written order.

    Rather than a development free-for-all, the city said that it would actually be pausing consideration of “zoning-related applications,” including “new construction, additions, site modifications, and changes in use” until more legal clarity about the status of the zoning code was reached.

    Eventually, this past September, the city was able to overturn the default judgment against its new zoning code.

    The case was set to go to trial in September 2026. A city staff report says that while they’re confident the city would prevail at trial, the settlement is a cheaper means of ending the lawsuit.

    The city says that the plaintiffs have agreed to accept the settlement as well. Provided that happens, after all the legal back-and-forth, Charlottesville’s new zoning code allowing a little more housing will be in effect, and plaintiffs will get a little more information about what the traffic impacts of that new housing will be.

    ROAD to Housing Act Passes Senate; Criticism Mounts

    The ROAD to Housing Act, the big, bipartisan amalgam of housing policy tweaks and changes, has miraculously managed to pass through the U.S. Senate during the ongoing government shutdown.

    The bill was folded into this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is now being taken up by the House of Representatives.

    As Rent Free has previously covered, the bill included a long list of relatively modest changes to federal grant and loan programs, mostly aimed at increasing housing production and diversifying the types of housing being produced.

    It managed to pass unanimously out of the Senate Banking Committee, where it was first introduced. Its attachment to the NDAA eased its passage through the full Senate.

    Santi Ruiz’s Statecraft podcast from last week contains good background on the political machinations that have seen the bill move as fast as it has on a bipartisan basis.

    There have been a number of conservative criticisms of the bill. The American Enterprise Institute’s Tobias Peter has argued the bill needlessly expands the federal government’s role in housing policy.

    More recently, Lyman Stone, writing at the Institute for Family Studies, argues the bill is “anti-family” by focusing its supply-side interventions on boosting the supply of smaller multifamily housing.

    That point got a lot of pushback on X from other housing wonks who argue that more one-bedroom apartments lower demand for family-sized units, and thus lower costs for everyone.

    Senate Democrats Propose Eviction Moratorium for Federal Workers During Shutdown

    Last week, I covered a bill authored by Sen. Brian Schatz (D–Hawaii) and supported by 17 of his fellow Democrats that would relieve federal workers and contractors from a long list of civil obligations during the shutdown, including the need to make rent and mortgage payments.

    As I argue in my post, the eviction protections in the bill are mostly performative and unnecessary. Few landlords would see any upside to evicting an otherwise good tenant because they fall behind on their bills during a shutdown.

    Nevertheless, I do find Schatz’s bill concerning, given the mentality it represents; whenever there’s some sort of economic shock, normal property rights governing the landlord-tenant relationship must be suspended.

    That attitude led to the pandemic’s disastrous eviction moratoriums. One would hate to see that thinking become policy come the next national calamity.

    Quick Links

    • A U.S. district court judge has blocked the Trump administration’s effort to lay off thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown, including several hundred employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The administration has vowed to comply with the order.
    • The New York Times covers Portland’s efforts to fight Immigration and Customs Enforcement by dinging the privately owned facility it’s operating out of in the city with a bunch of zoning violations.
    • Pittsburgh City Council members spar over whether to adopt a citywide “inclusionary zoning” ordinance. Read Reason‘s past coverage here.
    • New York’s mayoral candidates sparred over housing policy during their debate last week.

    [ad_2]

    Christian Britschgi

    Source link

  • Homeless Shelter app Pinellas County

    [ad_1]

    PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A year after Florida’s “Unauthorized Public Camping and Sleeping” law took effect, a new mobile app is helping outreach workers in Pinellas County connect people experiencing homelessness to shelter beds more quickly.

    What You Need To Know

    • A new mobile app is helping outreach workers in Pinellas County connect people experiencing homelessness to shelter beds

    • The Homeless Leadership Alliance (HLA) has launched the Community Services Mobile App, powered by WellSky

    • The tool works much like a hotel booking app 
    • More Information: Homeless Leadership Alliance


    The Homeless Leadership Alliance (HLA) has launched the Community Services Mobile App, powered by WellSky, giving street outreach teams real-time access to available shelter beds across the county. The tool works much like a hotel booking app — allowing staff to see which shelters have open beds, filter by service type, and even get directions and contact details.

    “This is the first time we’ve had something like this,” said Imani Smith, manager of HMIS and system administration for HLA. “Street outreach teams can use a phone or tablet to check shelter availability and make faster referrals on the spot.”

    The app connects directly to the Pinellas Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), ensuring outreach staff always have the most up-to-date information on shelter capacity and services.

    Smith says the need for accurate, real-time data is urgent.

    “We have more than 800 beds across Pinellas County, but compared to the number of people experiencing homelessness, it’s still not enough,” she said. “This mobile app helps us communicate better with providers and make sure that every available bed is used.”

    The Homeless Leadership Alliance says the launch reflects a larger, data-driven approach to reducing homelessness and improving coordination among service providers.

    Last winter, the organization opened cold-weather shelters a record 10 times, underscoring the importance of quick, coordinated responses when temperatures drop.

    “We’re investing in local solutions to reduce street homelessness and help people in crisis,” said Cheri Holzbacher, CEO of the Homeless Leadership Alliance. “This app is one more step toward making sure no bed stays empty when someone needs a place to sleep.”

    [ad_2]

    Fadia Patterson

    Source link

  • Oakland cuts ribbon on affordable housing complex at site of former Wood Street homeless encampment

    [ad_1]

    The site of what was once a sprawling homeless encampment in West Oakland has become an affordable housing complex for hundreds of new tenants. 

    The city celebrated the opening of Prescott Station on Wednesday, a building with 235 units, aimed at people earning up to 80% of the area median income.

    For resident Edward Fields, this is the first time an apartment like this has been accessible for him, a new build, and a place to call his own. Just a few years ago, he was experiencing homelessness.

    “I’ve been there, done that,” said Fields.

    Homelessness is a theme in the Wood Street area. Prescott Station, near the corner of Wood and 20th streets, is built on land that used to be home to one of Oakland’s largest homeless encampments. It spanned blocks with hundreds of people.

    Now, it’s been transformed, and the new community is having a positive impact on Field’s life.

    “It’s nicer, it’s safe, it’s secure,” Fields stated. “I basically don’t have to worry about being on the street or anything like that, or worry about where I’m going to lay my head down. I have all my ducks in a row now.”

    The complex has studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. Fields says safe, stable housing has allowed him to have a positive impact on others. He works with unhoused veterans and can relate to them, while being living proof of hope.

    “That’s why I do the work I want to do, because I set up other, so they don’t have to come back to the shelter and back to transitional housing,” Fields explained.

    Mayor Barbara Lee spoke during the grand opening celebration, highlighting the significance of West Oakland in her life.

    “I used to live at 21st and Filbert,” Lee stated. “Raised my kids there for many years.”

    While she’s disappointed about what has happened in recent years in West Oakland, she is optimistic about the turn it’s taking.

    “For too many years, though, this community has faced displacement and disinvestment,” said Lee. “Prescott Station is part of changing that narrative. Preserving our community, honoring history, and creating stability for families that deserve to remain in the neighborhoods that they’ve actually built and sustained for decades. Affordable housing isn’t and shouldn’t be a luxury. It’s a necessity.”

    Fields agrees. He’s only lived in West Oakland since April, but is impressed by Prescott Market, Raimondi Park, and his new home, Prescott Station.

    He’s looking forward to the future and grateful he has a front-row seat to watch it flourish.

    “I want to see Oakland come back to its former glory,” Fields said. “That would be my hope for the future.”

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Hari

    Source link

  • New program aims to get mental health care to the homeless

    [ad_1]

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new psychiatry program launched in Mecklenburg County called Wellness Without Walls. It’s led by the United Way of Greater Charlotte and its Home for All Initiative.

    Malia Suhren believes everyone deserves equitable health care.

    “That’s not something that has to be earned. It’s just a human right,” said Suhren, director of unsheltered housing navigation for Roof Above.

    What You Need To Know

    • A new psychiatry program launched in Mecklenburg County called Wellness Without Walls, led by the United Way of Greater Charlotte 

    • It takes mental health care out to the streets to reach homeless populations 

    • The treatment is consensual, and the goal is to help people long term


    It’’s a sentiment Suhren keeps close to her heart and it’s why her organization has partnered with other nonprofits and health providers to start the Wellness Without Walls program. It takes mental health care out to the streets, making sure homeless populations get mental health treatment. Suhren and her team take the essential supplies people need and a psychiatrist goes out with them once or twice a week. 

    “They conduct walk-and-talk assessments, connect people with life-changing medication, provide the psycho-education that just goes beyond what we’re able to provide at outreach,” Suhren said.

    All the treatment is consensual, and the goal is to help people long term.

    “When we have a discussion around safety, we tend to think of our own personal safety and perceptions of safety, and that’s totally valid and totally right,” said Kathryn Firmin-Sellers, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Charlotte. “I want to feel safe on the light rail. I want to feel safe walking Uptown.”

    “But I also want our homeless neighbors to feel safe as well,” she said. “So I think expanding that conversation around public safety to include all Charlotteans is a great addition and a great outcome of bringing this program to life.” 

    The total homeless population in North Carolina without shelter increased by 50% from 2010 to 2024, compared with 17% nationally, according to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

    “It would be amazing if Mecklenburg County could be something that people use as a model in order to improve services all around North Carolina,” Suhren said.

    The program is in its pilot phase but the United Way says it hopes to scale the program up in the coming year. 

    Helpful resources

    [ad_2]

    Arin Cotel-Altman

    Source link

  • Metropolitan Ministries expanding; opening holiday tent in Pinellas County

    [ad_1]

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After providing a holiday tent assistance program in Tampa more than 40 years, Metropolitan Ministries is expanding its outreach and opening a tent in Pinellas County this season.

    What You Need To Know

    • Metropolitan Ministries expands iconic holiday tent site to Pinellas County 

    • The St. Petersburg location at Holy Cross Catholic Church is expected to serve more than 5,000 families

    • Organization hiring for seasonal staff to help support holiday outreach efforts


     “We’ve done distributions out of the back of a truck and giving people food but this is more relational,” said Tim Marks, Chief Strategy Advisor and Former CEO of Metropolitan Ministries. “My role is to take what we’ve done in Tampa (and) make sure we do our best here in Pinellas to serve.”

    The organization will offer hope, Marks says, to more than 5,000 families the organization is expected to serve.

    “Some are struggling still from the hurricanes from last year. Others have economic storms and other storms of life that they’re facing. We want to bring hope and happiness to families over the holiday season,” he said.

    Families can start registering online Oct. 20 for the tent that helps people through the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

    “You shop for the food you like for your family. You pick out the toys. It’s not Metropolitan Ministries that’s providing the toys; you want to give mom and dad the dignity of providing toys for their kids,” said Marks.

    Holy Cross Catholic Church in St. Petersburg says parishioners are also excited about the expansion and ready to volunteer.

    Metropolitan Ministries is also hiring for several temporary positions to help support what it calls Tampa Bay’s largest outreach initiative serving families in crisis over Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

    “We’ve been seeing about a 15% increase in seniors struggling and needing help because they’re on fixed income. Their rent’s gone up, their food costs have gone up, utilities have gone up,” said Marks.

    While setup is still in progress, the tent will soon be filled with people serving the community.

    [ad_2]

    Melissa Eichman

    Source link

  • NW Oasis Day Center Allows Media To Tour Facility – KXL

    [ad_1]


    Mayor Keith Wilson was on hand to speak about the Northwest Oasis Day Center on 6th Avenue and Glisan, which is stepping right into his plan to end unsheltered homelessness in the city. The center is the first of its kind to appear in Portland.

    Rob Layne with Portland Solutions says what features there are for people to enjoy at the center.

    “This is a center that’s not only for unhoused folks, but also housed folks,” Layne said. “It’s really meant to be the ‘Everyone Is Welcome’ center.”

    “For this particular site, (there will be) showers, bathrooms, charging stations, and a fenced off pet area,” Layne continued.

    Layne also says what the goal of the day center is.

    “For Mayor Wilson and Portland Solutions and the City of Portland, we are adamant that this has to be a robust solution,” Layne said.

    “We’re excited about moving to the next step, which is getting people access to services and support that they need on a daily basis,” Layne continued.

    The city did a soft launch of the center last month with more aspects to be added in due time.

    More about:


    [ad_2]

    Noah Friedman

    Source link

  • San Francisco’s newest homeless shelter has strict no drugs or alcohol policy for residents

    [ad_1]

    San Francisco’s first sober homeless shelter is open. It’s part of the city’s new push to provide more beds and mandate stricter adherence to a no-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol. 

    One of the people following that new policy is Gary Noakes.

    “I couldn’t keep myself safe from myself. I was the biggest threat to myself.  I couldn’t control my choices,” said Noakes.

    The 43-year-old is trying to live a different life, finding shelter at Hope House, San Francisco’s first sober homeless shelter. 

    “I was living in a couple other shelters out here that were pretty tough going and a lot of drug users there,” said Noakes.  

    He is one of 15 new residents referred by city outreach workers. 

    Salvation Army executive director Steve Adami said the 58-bed shelter on 6th Street has a no-tolerance drug and alcohol policy, but that there are protocols in place to help residents if they relapse.  

    “Mistakes are going to happen. But the goal is to catch the mistake before it starts to escalate so that people can use an opportunity to learn,” said Adami.  

    The site will provide residents shelter for 30 days and up to a year as a first step towards recovery through abstinence rather than a harm reduction, housing first approach used at many other shelters. 

    “A change that’s happening right now where we’re really promoting drug-free environments, promoting recovery. The culture change is going to be the biggest shift,” said Adami. 

    The city has contracted the Salvation Army to run Hope House, as well as other next-step sober transitional housing programs.

    Noakes said he’s been more than a year free of hardcore drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamines, but that this is just the beginning.  

    “Now, I look back at the streets as motivation. This is something I’m not going to go back to,” said Noakes.  

    It’s a sign of hope and a new way of life for Noakes.

    The city also recently opened two sober transitional housing sites and a health respite center. It’s part of the Mayor’s Break the Cycle initiative to add 1,500 beds citywide for homeless people and those struggling with mental illness and addiction. 

    Kenny Choi

    When Kenny Choi jumped into the backseat, he never thought he would be introducing his ride share driver to National Public Radio. The hour-long ride to the airport turned into a conversation that included politics, the economic divide, and the cultural differences between the East Coast and the West Coast.

    [ad_2]

    Kenny Choi

    Source link

  • Denver slashes rental assistance as eviction cases hit record highs

    [ad_1]

    Denver’s tenant eviction clinic takes place on the first floor of the City and County Building. July 25, 2023.

    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Updated at 6:56 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025

    As Denver courts see record-high eviction cases, Mayor Mike Johnston is slashing the $23 million his administration promised in eviction prevention funding in 2025 by $9 million. 

    City-funded eviction prevention services came to a halt Friday morning, leaving dozens of clients the city promised to help uncertain about whether that help would actually arrive.  

    Service providers were left wondering whether they could offer any additional rental assistance support this year, and spent most of the day in conversations with Denver’s Department of Housing Stability. The funding is used to help people catch up on rent in no-payment eviction cases and is used to keep people housed when they would otherwise face homelessness. 

    The $9 million cut from this year’s budget will be transferred to next year’s Temporary Rental Assistance and Utility fund, now budgeted at $12 million. 

    Though the need is greater, the total amount of funding Denver provided for rental assistance was already lower this year than in 2024, when the city offered $29 million.

    Of the $23 million initially allocated for 2025, $15 million came from one-time pandemic-era federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that must be spent down, according to the mayor’s office. While the administration acknowledges the need for more rental assistance, the money is just not there, the mayor’s spokesperson Jon Ewing wrote in an email.

    “It hurts us all to see the TRUA numbers, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Councilmember Amanda Sawyer in a Wednesday Denver City Council budget hearing. “That money is gone.” 

    But the $9 million is still there. The new policy is that it can’t be spent until next year, even as Denver is on track to see an increase of more than 5,000 eviction cases this year, based on year-to-date court data. 

    The city will be able to serve as many as 1,500 fewer households with rental assistance in 2025 and 2026 than it did in 2024, Jeff Kositsky, with the Department of Housing Stability said at the budget hearing. 

    Nobody knows how permanent the stop-work order is. 

    On Friday morning, Denver’s housing department sent an immediate stop-work order to organizations like the Community Economic Defense Project contracted to help prevent eviction. 

    “After meeting with each agency to discuss the changes in the 2025 and 2026 TRUA budgets, we have determined we need to pause spending effective immediately while we reassess where we are with spending to date,” HOST wrote service providers in a letter obtained by Denverite. “To ensure TRUA has $9M remaining to rollover into 2026 as outlined in the proposed 2026 budget, we need to assess projected September expenditures and the remaining funds available for 2025.”

    The programs’ suspension left around 60 clients — likely around 150 people — who had been told they would receive city help uncertain whether that would ever come, said Community Economic Defense Project head Zach Neumann.

    “While the city had communicated 2025 budget reductions, providers were not aware that a full stop-work was coming,” he said. “We thought there were going to be reductions so money could be carried over. We didn’t think it would be a full stop to all activity.” 

    Neumann and CEDP were in conversations with HOST through Friday trying to determine if they would be allowed to resume their work this year. 

    Leaders at nonprofits say families facing eviction are devastated as they try to determine their next steps. 

    Without the help the city promised, in some cases, people will be forced out of their homes by the Denver Sheriff Department. In others, they may have evictions on their permanent records, making it harder to rent again. 

    Eviction prevention groups are scrambling for solutions for their clients and pushing the city to keep these programs running under a tight budget. 

    “We really deeply understand that the city has profound budget challenges and that the city has to make very tough choices,” Neumann said. “I also think that families who are receiving this news today have even bigger problems that they have to face, including the loss of their home. That’s what service providers are grappling with today.” 

    Neumann said his organization is optimistic HOST will find a way to resume work this year, but he is uncertain what that might look like. 

    “Later next week, HOST will determine the status of any remaining 2025 funds, and whether additional TRUA applications will be accepted this year,” HOST spokesperson Derek Woodbury wrote Denverite in an email.

    The context of the cuts

    The cuts are part of Johnston’s broader efforts to reduce government spending as he attempts to close a $50 million general fund budget deficit this year and a $200 million general fund budget deficit next year. 

    Councilmember Sarah Parady told Denverite that she’s disappointed in the 2025 eviction prevention cuts that undermine long negotiations the council had with the mayor’s office last year.  

    “I know that we save so much money and so much trauma by preventing evictions,” she said. 

    Restricting how rental assistance can be used could ultimately be more costly, she said. Housing someone who is already homeless is far more expensive than keeping a person facing a financial crisis housed through eviction prevention. 

    Changing priorities

    Johnston recently told Denverite the city will prioritize those most likely to experience homelessness, though he did not specify what metrics the city would use to assess risk. 

    “Every city is struggling with the same question right now: How do we target our resources in a way that prevents the most homelessness?” said housing department head Jamie Rife at the budget hearing. “And we’ve worked really hard to do that.”

    Without rolling over the money, the administration contends there would only be $3 million available for eviction prevention next year.

    Shifting money around to make it appear that the city is not drastically cutting rental assistance dollars next year is “prioritizing optics over human beings,” Parady said.

    Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information about the source of temporary eviction prevention funding.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • LA council delays vote on outside ‘monitor’ in federal homeless lawsuit

    [ad_1]

    The Los Angeles City Council delayed a vote Friday on City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s request to hire a “monitor” who would track the city’s progress and use of funds under a federal lawsuit settlement requiring 12,915 shelter beds by June 2027.

    The City Council is expected to revisit the matter Wednesday. Feldstein Soto has proposed contracting with former City Controller Ron Galperin and data analyst Daniel Garrie to serve jointly as the monitor in the L.A. Alliance case.

    ALSO SEE: LAHSA adopts conflict-of-interest policy for homeless service contracting

    In June, a federal court judge determined that the city failed to meet its obligations under a settlement agreement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights. U.S. District Judge David Carter ordered city officials to provide an updated plan detailing how it will create 12,915 beds for homeless residents within two years.

    In court documents, Carter wrote that the city has shown “a consistent lack of cooperation and responsiveness — an unwillingness to provide documentation unless compelled by court order or media scrutiny.”

    The judge had previously threatened the city with appointing a receiver to oversee homeless funding and enforce compliance with the settlement, as requested by plaintiffs. Carter ultimately declined to do so, describing such action as a “last resort.”

    However, Carter did institute a “monitor” to oversee compliance, who would “ask the hard questions on behalf of Angelenos,” the judge had written in his order.

    The city is expected to submit their bed plan and name a monitor as ordered by Carter no later than Oct. 3.

    The case started in March 2020 when L.A. Alliance — a coalition of business owners and residents of the city and county — filed a complaint in Los Angeles federal court against the city and Los Angeles County accusing them of not doing enough to address homelessness.

    [ad_2]

    City News Service

    Source link

  • Lake Street encampment shooting stemmed from dispute over drug territory, charges say

    [ad_1]

    An Illinois man was allegedly trying to sell drugs at a Minneapolis homeless encampment when a dispute led to a shootout that killed a woman and injured six others, newly filed charges say.

    More than 30 shots were fired at the encampment on Lake Street and 28th Avenue South on Sept. 15, according to a criminal complaint. Three of the seven people shot had life-threatening injuries, and the woman died of her wounds days later. 

    The 31-year-old Illinois man was arrested on Wednesday. Charging documents say that when he was taken into custody, he was carrying two bags of suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine.

    In a post-Miranda statement, the man said he was part of a group of drug dealers from Illinois who had turned to selling in Minnesota, specifically along the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis. According to the charges, he complained that the city had “shut down” the Greenway, and decided he should start selling drugs at the encampment on Lake Street.

    The man said he had just spent two days in jail for allegedly driving under the influence, and when he was released around 6 p.m., he met up with his four associates with the intention of going to the Lake Street site, according to the complaint.

    When the group arrived around 10 p.m., they learned that there was already a separate group selling drugs, the man said in his statement. The other group was yelling that they didn’t want anyone else to sell drugs, so the Illinois man said he and his group approached them.

    He said he was carrying a pistol at the time; two others from his cohort were also carrying firearms, according to the complaint. They then had a face-to-face confrontation about who was allowed to sell drugs at the encampment.

    The dispute soon led to a shootout when, according to the Illinois man, a man from the group that was already at Lake Street shot one of his associates in the chest. After that, “everyone else” started shooting, he said in his statement. 

    The complaint says he fired “once or twice” until his gun jammed and he fell backwards into another tent. He then got up and hopped a fence to run away. He added that he sold his gun to someone on Lake Street for $200.

    According to the charging documents, investigators also spoke to a member of the Lake Street group, who claimed a member of the Illinois party fired first. The witness said that the woman who was shot was not part of the dispute and was instead inside of an adjacent tent when shots broke out.

    The Illinois man was charged with first-degree riot and illegal possession of a firearm. The criminal complaint says he has multiple felony convictions in Illinois, including robbery, damage to property and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is currently in custody.

    The encampment was shut down after the mass shooting; Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the city council had been trying to clear the site, which is on a private lot, for months. The city had issued owner Hamoudi Sabri nearly a dozen public health notices for drug paraphernalia, open fire, excessive debris and lack of sanitation.

    On Tuesday, a judge granted the city’s request for a temporary restraining order against Sabri. In response to the decision, Sabri said he still plans to hold the city “accountable,” and added his priority is “the dignity and safety of our unhoused neighbors.”

    Note: The above video first aired on Sept. 24, 2025.

    WCCO Staff

    The WCCO Staff is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on WCCO.com.

    [ad_2]

    WCCO Staff

    Source link